American English vs. British English: The Food Edition

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Although the Spellzone course was written in the UK, it covers both British English and American English spellings. The different spellings of a words are highlighted throughout the course, and you can choose whether you would prefer to take a British English or an American English version of a test. Click here to read an overview of the main differences between American English and British English spellings, and here for more detailed information.

It’s not just spellings you need to watch out for though! Some words have different meanings depending on whether they are used in an American English or a British English context. 

Here are 20 American English words for food and their British English counterparts:  

  1. baked potato – jacket potato 
  2. bell peppers – peppers 
  3. candy – sweets 
  4. chili peppers – chillies 
  5. chips – crisps 
  6. cilantro – coriander 
  7. cookie – biscuit  
  8. cotton candy – candy floss 
  9. eggplant – aubergine
  10. French fries – chips 
  11. garbanzo bean – chickpea 
  12. Jell-O – jelly
  13. jelly – jam
  14. jelly roll – Swiss roll
  15. lima bean – broad bean
  16. navy bean – haricot bean 
  17. pickle – gherkin 
  18. powdered sugar – icing sugar
  19. scallion – spring onion 
  20. sprinkles (for ice cream) – hundreds and thousands 

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18 Feb 2021
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"I love your course..... you explain so much that I didn't know, forgot, or wasn't taught."

Adult student, USA